Six Degrees of Separation
by EmLovesYouu
Summary: "Everyone always talked about how long distance relationships never last, especially when you're young; they'd been determined to prove them wrong. But just like the statistics predicted, they'd crumbled." - Klaine oneshot, spoilers for 4x04.


**My god, I've been on such a roll lately (mostly because I'm just procrastinating, but whatever)! This was inspired by The Script's _"Six Degrees of Separation"_ - so if you haven't heard it, GO AND LISTEN TO IT BECAUSE IT IS AMAZING!**

**Anyway, enjoy! :)**

…**.**

_**First, you think the worst is a broken heart.**_

He felt sick to his stomach. No, even worse than that; sick to the core of his being. They were supposed to defy the odds, beat the statistics. Everyone always talked about how long distance relationships never last, especially when you're young; they'd been determined to prove them wrong. _We can survive this_, they told each other before Kurt had left, and even once he was in New York. To be entirely honest, they'd kept saying it up until tonight. But just like the statistics predicted, they'd crumbled; well, _he_ had.

He'd cheated on Kurt. The only person he'd ever loved, the only one he _could_ ever love. The one being who he'd risk anything and everything for. The one person who loved him to pieces regardless of all his flaws. And he'd cheated on him.

Just the thought of it – the memory – made him feel dirty, made him feel bile rising up in the back of throat.

It was honestly the most idiotic thing he'd ever done in his life. And there was nothing he could do about it.

In Kurt's apartment that night, the two of them laying as far apart as physically possible, was like a stab to his heart. Visiting Kurt was supposed to be exciting and happy and romantic. And instead, it was none of those. He knew Kurt wasn't actually asleep; they'd been together long enough that he was able to tell these kind of things.

It took every ounce of his strength not to roll over and wrap Kurt up in his arms when he heard a muffled sob from the other side of the bed. But he couldn't do that, not anymore. Instead, he shoved the corner of his pillow into his mouth to silence the cries he couldn't keep in any longer.

_**What's gonna kill you is the second part.**_

They hadn't spoken a word since that night. He remembered moving around the apartment the following morning, gathering his things, neither of them speaking. They silence had hung heavy over them. And then he'd left. That had been almost two months ago.

He'd been relatively good at containing his emotions, knowing it was not his place to cry; he'd been the one to cause this mess after all.

But today was different. Today he didn't care that he'd told himself to be strong, told himself that things would get better. Because today was Kurt's birthday, and the sole thing that plagued his mind that day was the thought that, had he not been such an idiot, he would be in New York right now. He'd promised Kurt, the moment that it had been officially decided that he was going to go to New York, that he would be there when he woke up on his birthday. Of course, Kurt had told him that was ridiculous; _Blaine, don't be stupid. I'm not going to let you take time off school so you can celebrate my birthday_. He'd been persistent though, and eventually Kurt had given in.

But now that the day was actually here, from the moment he woke up, all he could think about was Kurt waking up in his bed – alone. And despite what he'd told himself, he let himself cry that day.

_**And the third, is when your world splits down the middle.**_

It was not official, at least not in his eyes. Sure, he'd done the worst thing imaginable. And they hadn't talked in almost eight months. But neither one of them had said the words: _I think we should break up_. And that somehow gave him hope.

It was the night of his senior prom. He'd been quite excited about it really. He'd gone out dress and shoe shopping with Tina and Brittany, because they needed a boys opinion _of course_. They'd even helped him pick out a new bow tie. Though he'd been asked by a number of Juniors to take them to prom, he had politely declined every single one of them; partly due to him being very much gay, but mostly because there was still a sliver of hope within him that Kurt would show up – just like they'd talked about so many times.

So that's how he ended up at his senior prom, alternating between sitting and standing close to the entrance of the school gym. Tina had tried to coax him out onto the dance floor, saying that her date wouldn't mind sitting out for just one dance. As she'd expected, he'd declined.

Even though the chances of Kurt showing up were slim, _extremely _slim, he wasn't risking it. If Kurt showed up, he would be standing at the gym door, waiting to take his arm in his.

It wasn't until couples slowly started to dwindle away, the gym becoming less and less crowded, that reality really sunk in. He wasn't coming. That small glimmer of hope he'd been holding onto for so long vanished in a second.

His body went cold. He could feel the sweat building up on his body beneath his suit, his bow tie suddenly feeling so tight that he feared he may choke, as he began to hyperventilate. His legs went weak beneath him as sobs began to work their way out of his body. He completely forgot that he was in the middle of his school gym, that is, until he felt Tina kneel down beside him on the dirty floor and wrap her arms around him so tightly it was as though it was the only thing holding him together.

"He – didn't – come," Blaine managed to gasp out between his tears.

"I know. I'm so sorry..."

_**And fourth, you're gonna think that you fixed yourself.**_

If one year ago you had asked him what his life would be like when he graduated high school, his answer would have been entirely different from reality. He'd have talked about how Kurt would have flown back from New York to be there, sitting right in the front row. They would spend the next couple of weeks spending time with their high school friends before heading back to New York to start their lives together.

While he would be going of to New York at the end of the month, it would not be to start his life with Kurt. And nor would Kurt be sitting in the front row, cheering him on as he accepting his diploma in those bright red robes and caps. Because he and Kurt had broken up. But if he really thought about it, he was okay with that. He'd kind of had a relapse after prom, the realisation that they weren't just on a break, that they were _actually_ broken up, hitting him hard. Despite his mum telling him that he couldn't mope around in bed forever, he'd still done so for a week. He'd gotten up and showered a couple of times, and after a couple of days he went downstairs to eat rather than bringing his meals to his room.

Once finals started creeping up on him however, he got his act together.

And here he was, graduating.

The ceremony had been pretty much the same as last years; Glee club performing for one final performance after winning Nationals for the second year in a row.

He was getting ready to leave – they were all going to Brittany's house afterwards – when he felt a hand clasp down on his shoulder. He spun around, the sight he was met with entirely unexpected.

"Burt -"

"Hey kid, congratulations!" he said with a smile, pulling him into a hug.

"I don't understand... what are you doing here?" Blaine asked, trying his hardest not to let the tears currently brimming his eyes fall.

"Look, I know you and Kurt aren't together anymore, but I still consider you part of the family, and your family should be here to see you graduate."

_**Fifth, you see them out with someone else.**_

He'd been in New York for two weeks now, and he was absolutely loving it. He loved being able to walk everywhere, he loved all the adorable corner cafes and coffee shops, he loved exploring the city he'd dreamed of living in for so long. And while boarding at NYU wasn't perfect, it was a start.

He was on his way back from class to meet his roommate James for lunch when he saw him. Even though he could only see the back of him, he knew instantly that it was him. His hair, his legs, his clothes; despite not having seen him in almost a year, he'd be able to recognise him from a crowd of millions in a heartbeat. He was wearing a short-sleeved navy shirt with a pair of unbelievably tight black jeans he had such fond memories of. His hair was still the same, possibly a little lighter. But it was his smile that caught his attention. It was just as bright and wide and beautiful as he'd remembered.

He was snapped out of his reverie, however, when another man who looked to be around their age stepped closer to wrap his arm around Kurt's waist.

And it was at that exact moment that Kurt must have sensed eyes on him, turning to meet his gaze intently, stuttering a, "B-Blaine?"

_**And the sixth, is when you admit that you may have fucked up a little.**_

Blaine was turning away and walking in the opposite direction almost instantly, ignoring his name being called. Even though he could hear footsteps behind him, obviously trying to catch up with him, he refused to turn around. If he turned around, despite being a generally non-violent person, he was sure he would punch that guy in the face – not Kurt, _god no_, the guy who he'd been with. And he didn't want to do that, he _really_ didn't want to do that.

He'd just turned a corner into a narrow street lined with shops when a hand grips his upper arm and forced him to turn around. And there was Kurt, standing only inches away from him, his facial expression a mix between anger, confusion and shock.

"Blaine..."

"Kurt..."

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I live here now. I'm at NYU."

Kurt reached out a hand to brush a curl from Blaine's forehead, but at the touch, Blaine stepped back.

"Kurt, I -"

"I missed you," Kurt said, and Blaine could tell he meant it in every sense of the world.

"Who was that guy you were with?" He couldn't stop himself. He had to ask.

"Uh, his name is Anthony. Rachel, well, she said I needed to start dating again, that I couldn't pine over – she just thought I should _broaden my horizons_ a little bit. So I agreed to have coffee with him, but I don't think it's going to work out," Kurt trailed off.

"Oh?"

"Why didn't you come back?" Kurt blurted out.

"Come back? What do you -"

"We didn't talk about it and then you left and I haven't seen or heard from you since then..."

"I figured you didn't want to," he said, feeling guilty.

"I wanted you to. God, you have no idea how much I wanted you to. For months and months, I checked my phone every morning, hoping I'd have a message from you or that you would call, _anything_! And then Rachel thought I was going insane when I said I was going to fly back to Lima for your prom. I told her that I'd promised I would be there but she talked me out of it, saying that after eight months of not speaking, promises are generally not kept. And it killed me inside, not being able to be there with you..."

"I wanted you to be there. I stood at the door the whole night, hoping you would show up, but you didn't -"

He couldn't take it any longer and he surged forward to capture Kurt's lips with his. A second later, Kurt was returning the kiss, his hands moving to Blaine's hair to hold him close, closer, as close as they could possibly be. Their kisses were desperate and needy and perfect.

_I'm sorry._

_I've missed you so much._

_I can't believe I was so stupid._

_It doesn't matter. _

_I'm sorry. So so sorry._

_Stop apologising. You were forgiven so long ago._

_I love you._

_I love you too, so much._

…**.**

**YAYYYY! Even though it was super angsty at the start, hopefully this cheered you up a little after that-episode-that-will-not-be-named! If you're interested, I'm in the middle of an AU fic called **_You Only Find It Once_**, so you can check that out if you like :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this! You're welcome to come and say hi to me over at tumblr: **emlovessid . tumblr . com **and remember to REVIEW!**

**Em xoxo**


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